Why is it that almost everybody hates G.W.Bush after Afghanistan & Irak? What was he supposed to do after 9/11

Question

I mean, it is easy to say he should have done this or not done that.
My question is what was he supposed to do in order to protect America after the terrorists attacks other than what he already did?

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Answer to JAL:

Al-Qaeda is not a country, you can't just attack them.
In order to do that you have to attack also the ones that nest them and give them support.

Answer 1

War was the only answer. We have to fight these people wherever they are and even though Iraq may have not been the right target in a lot of peoples minds, it does now fund and house terrorists so we have to fight them. If we can fight them over there and it keeps them out of the U.S., then I say FIGHT!

Answer 2

Most people agreed that something had to be done, but not necessarily with what was actually done.

I, for one, felt that actions had to take place, but I -strongly- disagree with the actions that were taken. And, by the way, I am a Conservative.

Go back to the days immediately after 9/11. We knew that Osama bin Laden was involved in the planning, and that he had been responsible for other acts of terrorism against Americans. It also didn't take a genius to know that Islamic extremists around the world had declared war on the West, with America as one of their targets.

And then something went wrong. Instead of having the guts to do the right thing, our cowboy president showed himself a coward. It was -easy- to go into Afghanistan, defeat their insignificant military, turn them against each other, and declare military victory. And it was completely pointless. Why? Because the problem was so much wider and deeper than that. We acted like this was a quick-fix issue, when it wasn't.

Then, riding the heels of an easy, meaningless victory in Afghanistan, Bush charged into Iraq without building a strong enough case in the international community. Patience could have changed the entire face of that war, but he went blindly charging in. Patience could have provided a better plan for the occupation, instead of the non-plan Bush went in with.

And then Bush declared another meaningless victory. In the end, he simply stirred the hornet's nest for nothing. What should he have done? Made the case to the American people (who would have listened immediately after 9/11) and to the international community that Islamic extremists could not be tolerated. That's a tough sell, and bound to draw criticism. There is a knee-jerk reaction by almost everyone to avoid criticizing religion, no matter how bloody and perverse it has become. If Bush was a braver man, he would have done it anyway, though.

What good would making a case against Islamic extremism have done? It would have allowed a thousand small actions to lead to the end of that branch of Islam as a world-threat. A country with strong ties and support for Islamic extremism enters a war, we support the other side. A leader is elected who preaches hate for the West, and the West cuts them off from support and aid. And at the same time, we can use special forces and cooperative governments to root out extremist elements around the world. And so on...

The point is, none of the above actions appeals to a cowboy. None would have been clean and there would be no real 'victory parade'. But it would work. It has worked in the past. Bush just lacked the guts and integrity to stand in front of the American public and admit the kind of fight we were in, preferring a pointless series of hot wars to another, more meaningful cold war.

Answer 3

"Most people did not even hate Bush after invading Iraq"

American people, maybe. Europeans do hate Bush since the first day of this war which had no legitimacy.

War nourishes hate, and then is the worse answer to terrorism because it increases terrorism.

US should better ask itself how it had generated so much hate in the world, hate which is increasing in Europe these days with its support to Israël in its crimes, and changes its behaviour with regard to the rest of the world.

As long as US will act as if it was the master of the world, acting alone scornful with UN, it will be attacked by terrorists.

A child could understand it...

Answer 4

Do you really not know the answer to this question? He should have gone after Al Qaeda rather than attacking Iraq and doing it in such a way that he has created more terrorists.

Answer 5

Because Iraq was not linked to Al-Qaeda nor did they have WMDS, those were utter lies. Your right, something needed to be done about Al-Qaeda, but Iraq shouldn't have been in the agenda if the true reason was to overtake an opressive government why have Syria, Darfur, and others not been overtaken. Read the essay by John Le Carre:http://www.snopes.com/rumors/lecarre.htm

Answer 6

Most people did not hate Bush after Afghanistan. In fact, most people approved of overthrowing the Taliban. Most people did not even hate Bush after invading Iraq. It was only when things started to go so badly in Iraq, and when it was clear that the reasons he gave for invading Iraq (supposed weapons of mass destruction) were bogus, that people started to turn against Bush on Iraq. I think a lot of people only really started to hate Bush after Hurricane Katrina, which exposed how incompetent his administration is.

Answer 7

well did afganistan or iraq attack America. and who put the regimes there in place anyway. if america did what gives them the right to kill civilians in order to correct past mistakes. also should everyone have their vengenance without care for any rules or laws if not why does the camp at GITMO exist in voilation of all possible international laws. under what law do you hold foreign citizens without trial claiming that they are non state combatants when you picked a large number of them fighting in afganistan when you were attacking their country. and did anyone stop to ask what did osama bin laden possibly gain by such and overt act apart from destruction of his safe haven and withdrawal of medical facilities that were extended to him by pakistan courtesy of the requests from your government.

Answer 8

Iran and Saudi Arabia should have been the targets. They are the countries that fund the terrorists.